Oct. 18, 1999 -- From
video painters to computer musicians, "e-artists" booked
for a year-long celebration of technology in the arts at the University
of Virginia are sharing some cutting-edge techniques that are transforming
traditional artistic processes. The visiting artists will work with
students and faculty, as well as put on exhibits and performances.

In
a continuing effort to strengthen ties among the arts, the McIntire
Department of Music, the McIntire Department of Art, the Department
of Drama and the Bayly Art Museum have joined in the collaborative
effort with arts enhancement support from the Office of the Vice
President and Provost.

Arts
Enhancement Funding, started in 1995 to increase awareness and student
participation in cultural events, has helped stimulate a renaissance
in the arts on Grounds while advancing arts progress.

"The
Provosts Arts Enhancement Funds are essential to the Bayly
Art Museum for three reasons," said museum director Jill Hartz.
"They stimulate our thinking outside the box and encourage
us to venture into new public program territory. Second, these funds
enable us to mount an exhibitions program that brings exciting new
artists as well as major works of art to the museum, which strengthens
both our academic resource commitment and our mission to serve the
general public. Finally, they inspire others  individuals
as well as corporations and foundations  to support our programs."

"Arts Enhancement Funds have made a world of difference to
the Music Department, quite literally enabling us to bring performers
from a variety of cultures, and performers exploring futuristic
sounds as well as [those] who draw on traditional practices,"
said Judith Shatin, chair of the Music Department and director of
the Virginia Center for Computer Music.

Adds
Lawrence Goedde, Art Department chair: "Arts Enhancement Funds
enable us to bring significant visual artists into the department
to work with students, critique their art and provide them with
access to the larger art world."

A
multisensory experience

An
exhibition of video and multimedia artist Daniel Reeves, "Above
Memory and Transformation," opened at the Bayly Art Museum
Oct. 9 and runs through Dec. 22. Reevess technically layered
works, which explore and resolve his personal experience with violence
in a multisensory experience, are exhibited in collaboration with
the Virginia Film Festival, "TechnoVisions," taking place
through Oct. 24. The festival also will premiere two of his films
along with his video art.

While
in residency in the Art Department, Reeves will work with advanced
digital media students to produce an artists book combining
his images and text. Reeves also will participate in a collaborative
event in the spring, "Hindsight-Foresight: Art for the New
Millennium," which will include eight to 10 internationally
known artists working with community groups on environmental art
projects. Other participants include Ann Hamilton, Agnes Denes,
Suzanne Helmuth, Mel Chin, Dennis Oppenheim, Bill Viola, Jock Reynolds,
Michael Mercil, Zucco Possi, Martha Jackson-Jarvis and U.Va.s
Bill Bennett and Rosemarie Fiore.

Digital
illustration

Another
innovative artist coming to the Grounds, Randy Bolton will exhibit
his digital print works at the Fayerweather Gallery in November.
Bolton uses images reminiscent of childrens storybook illustrations,
but turning the safe and innocent familiarity of those images into
what he describes as "metaphors of a troubled world that is
threatened by forces beyond our true comprehension and control."

During
a week-long residency, Bolton will work with advanced printmaking
students in the Art Department. Employing a host of techniques 
visual software, 19th-century color separations, a 16th-century
etching press and a 20th-century inkjet printer 
students will assist Bolton in the creation of a color polymer photogravure.

TechnoSonics

The
McIntire Department of Musics "TechnoSonics" program
will bring together Nov. 11-13 several musicians and composers who
combine electronic equipment with traditional instruments. The first
performance will feature F. Gerard Errante, an internationally acclaimed
clarinetist, playing Shatins "Sea of Reeds" for
clarinet and live electronics on Nov. 11.

Violinist
Mari Kimura, who uses interactive computer music along with violin,
will join Shatin and U.Va. colleague and fellow composer Alicyn
Warren for a colloquium on Nov. 12. Kimura, who teachers at the
Julliard School of Music, will perform her own works, as well as
others composed for her Nov. 13.

Also
playing the same evening will be composer and performer Bruce Mahin.
One of the works he will perform is an original piece, "Galileo,"
for electronic wind instrument, interactive computer and synthesizer.
The work was inspired by the life of Galileo and his enterprise
of exploration and discovery.

Behind
the scenes

"This
Arts Enhancement Fund has been invaluable to us as it allows our
students to connect year-in, year-out with the professional world
of theater," said Robert Chapel, chair of the Drama Department.
"Our guest artists have spent a varied amount of time with
us  from one weekend to six weeks, depending on what they
are working on. In all cases, they work with our students 
from analyzing their work to actually working side by side with
them on our shows."

David
Weiss, retired U.Va. faculty member and the force behind the building
of Culbreth Theatre, returned to design the sets for the seasons
opening production, "Marisol." He now works as a designer
and theater building/design consultant.

Looking
toward spring

Documentary
film and video artist Susan Lutz will conduct seminars in February
with photography, anthropology and independent film students during
her residency. Lutz uses memories and rituals associated with preparing
a Southern Sunday dinner as the thesis of her most recent work,
aptly titled "Sunday Dinner." Students will be able to
participate in the filming of "Sunday Dinner."

In
the Drama Department, guest director Doug Sprigg, an expert in Shakespeare
and Chekhov, will direct graduate and undergraduate actors in "Uncle
Vanya." Alumnus and New York scenic designer William Clark
will arrive in April to work with students to design the sets for
"A Streetcar Named Desire."

The
Music Department will present the University of Richmonds
Virginia Currents, who will perform works by U.Va.s Warren,
Shatin and five other Virginia composers. The Paul Dresher Ensemble,
known for its experimental opera, chamber composition, and live
instrumental electro-acoustic chamber music, also will perform in
the spring.

Contact:
Jane Ford, (804) 924-4298

FOR
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: please contact
the Office of University Relations at (804) 924-7116. Television
reporters should contact the TV News Office at (804)
924-7550.SOURCE: U.Va. News Services